No patterns to Motueka’s spate of structure fires

A recent flurry of structure fires around Motueka has raised locals’ eyebrows, but emergency services spokespeople say that there is no wider cause for concern.

The 12 structure fires have included house fires on King Edward, Trewavas and Wilkinson Streets, an uninhabited tiny home in Ngatimoti and last week’s accommodation fire at the Riwaka Hotel.

These blazes have all taken place in the last three months, and some Motueka residents have started to question whether the town has a firebug at work.

However, Motueka Volunteer Fire Brigade chief fire officer Mike Riddell says that the fire numbers are actually tracking the same as previous years, and that he is confident there is no pattern of foul play.

It was the anomaly that Motueka had no structure fires in the first six months of the year, “which is probably what has raised people’s eyebrows,” he says.

Of the 12 fires, he says that one was related to a fireplace, one a wall-mounted heater, another was caused by a washing machine fault, two are related to lithium-ion batteries, one is labelled “no equipment involved”, which indicates a cause such as a wiring issue, and five are “undetermined”.

“There can be lots of factors as to why we can’t determine the cause of the fire, including the extent of the damage to the property, as well as everything that takes place when we’re trying to put the fire out, such as putting water on the fire or having to move things around,” says the fire chief, who has been with the brigade for 43 years.

However, he is sure that there are no commonalities between the fires.

“We’re not in a situation where there’s [a serial] arsonist,” he says.

“At the end of the day, we are well trained in what signs to look for if it’s done deliberately.

These sentiments were echoed by Motueka police senior sergeant Martin Tunley, who says that although arson was the suspected cause of several of the fires, they are not interconnected.

“They’ll all individual incidents. We’re investigating the ones in King Edward and Wilkinson Streets, but they are unlikely to be linked.”

Mike says that the Motueka station receives between 230 and 250 calls each year, and right now, the station is sitting on about the 200-mark, putting it within the same range as usual.

Of this year’s callouts, 17 percent – or 33 incidents - have been fires, 10 percent are classified as miscellaneous, such as animal rescues and hazardous chemical spills, 25 percent have been to help out other stations, and 23 percent are motor vehicle accidents and medical calls. The remaining quarter are false alarm activations to commercial and residential premises.

Each year, between 10-20 annual callouts are structure fires, which includes houses, sheds and commercial or industrial buildings. This label applies whether there is slight damage or total destruction of the building.

The Fire and Emergency New Zealand website has information on many facets of fire safety, including tabs on lithium-ion batteries and smoke alarms.

Mike encourages people to reach out for a visit from their local fire and emergency station to receive a free fire safety check and, if needed, free smoke alarms. He says a home visit takes about 30 to 45 minutes, which is a fraction of the time it takes to attend a house fire.

“You’re not wasting our time,” he summarises. “We’re here to make a difference in the community and keep the community safe.”

He says that people can also request a home visit.

Motueka’s 250 annual callouts are only about 50 less than Richmond and Stoke’s brigades.

“We’re not a quiet station, unfortunately.”  

Mike is confident that on the whole, the fire safety messages are getting through, but he says there is always work to do. The Motueka and Tasman brigades have completed more than 150 home visits in the wider Motueka area so far this year, “and in all of those, we made a difference”.

The brigade may have attended 33 fires, but “I would strongly suggest that we’ve prevented a lot more”.